Exploring the History, Literature, and Culture of the Tar Heel State

In Pinehurst, a general grand but not grandiose

“In the last few years of his life [George C. Marshall, General of the Army and recipient of the 1953 Nobel Peace Prize] used to drive downtown most days from his small house in Pinehurst, North Carolina, buy his groceries in the supermarket, tote them to his car to the accompaniment of a nod from the townspeople, a bit of gossip with the drugstore clerk, and then get into his car again, receive the flourish of a salute from the traffic cop, and drive home again. Yet on [Oct. 16, 1959] wherever in the world the American flag flies, it was lowered and flown for him.”